Mr Scratch -- Hotch's POV
by marcallie
Summary: The ending of Mr. Scratch from Hotch's point of view (hence the imaginative title). Definite spoiler alert.


**AN: This is WORSE than just a spoiler. If you have not seen Season 10, episode 21: "Mr. Scratch" - do NOT read this one-shot.**

 _You have to talk about it._

Not tonight.

 _Yes. Tonight. While it's still fresh._

I can . . . It doesn't. . . Parts of it don't make sense to me.

 _They don't have to. Tell me what it smelled like. Tell me how you felt. Start at the beginning. Start at the end, but start. Now, what do you remember? Aaron? Aaron? Hotch!_

This is what happened.

I pulled up to the house. I was there first; I was the closest. I knew you were coming, but there wasn't time. I put on my vest and pulled my gun before I went to the front door. It was dark; no lights, not even outside. Did I knock? I think I knocked, but the door was open. She told me to come in.

She was in the study. I was telling her to leave, that she had to go, and she said she understood, but she didn't sound like she cared. There were lights in there; I could see her. She held up the knife and said, "You should see this. He wants you to see this." And then she cut her own throat.

I ran to her. I thought maybe I could help her, maybe stop the bleeding. And then he was behind me. I heard the spray before I felt it, like weed killer. I couldn't smell it, but it was wet, damp. I think I shot at him, but everything was moving too fast. I grabbed a pitcher on her desk. I was going to throw it at him, but then I realized it might help me more if I could wash the drugs off my face. I splashed it, poured it, over my head.

He sprayed me again, right in my face this time. My gun was gone; I couldn't find my gun, but I had my backup piece on my ankle. He hit me with . . . I don't know what. Something hard. My head was foggy, and then he was right there. There was something on his face. A mask? No, not exactly. I want to say a gas mask, but that's not right.

 _It's okay, Aaron. Go on._

He sprayed me again. I don't remember anything for a minute after that.

 _Were you unconscious, or do you just not remember?_

I don't know. The next thing I knew, my phone was ringing. Except he said it wasn't, so it wasn't.

 _What?_

Wait. My phone was ringing, and I could see it on the floor, down by my feet. I was sitting up, leaning against something, and he was sitting right in front of me on a chair. It was an oxygen mask, he had an oxygen mask on his face! He took it off.

He said, "You can't move, because I say you can't move." And I couldn't move, at least not properly. I wanted to grab my phone, but my arms wouldn't respond. He said, "You do what I say."

I said his name, I think, but he said I wasn't allowed to speak, and then I couldn't say anything else. It was like, the words were there in my mind, they were even in my mouth, but they wouldn't come out. I looked at Dr. Regan, and he told me she got what she deserved, that I shouldn't feel bad about her. He told me she used to burn sage during the sessions, and I realized that he had to have been in the sessions himself in order to know that. He must have turned on his father himself, because she convinced him to.

He said I could talk, that he wanted to know what I was feeling. And my phone was ringing again . . . or still . . . I'm not sure. Did you call more than once?

 _Aaron, we called about a hundred times. Don't worry about it. What did you say?_

I told him you were coming. And he said my phone wasn't ringing, and it wasn't. But it had been, hadn't it?

 _Yes._

I told him. I told him what I knew. I told him how she coerced him until he made up lies about his own father. He put my gun to my head and told me to shut up. I almost had him. But, all of a sudden, his face cleared. And he said, "That was so good, the way you got into my head. It makes me want to get into yours."

We heard a car pull up. He said I was right, that you were coming for me. I told him that you would kill him. He seemed to think that was amusing. He went away. I heard the front door open – I don't even remember closing it before - and then it was quiet. Too, too quiet. I couldn't hear any of you, not him, not the team. Until the shot.

 _The shot?_

He shot Reid. Oh, God, Dave, JJ was shouting that Reid was down, and then there was a whole volley, more than one gun, with glass breaking and metal banging. I couldn't move, I couldn't help you. There was quiet again, complete silence, and then one more shot. Or maybe two. Morgan called me, told me to sound off, and all of a sudden I could. I told him where I was. He came in with his gun up. I asked him . . . I think I asked him where Peter was. He said he had shot him . . . but he hadn't. Peter came in behind him. I tried to warn him, Rossi, I tried . . .

 _Shhh. It's all right._

It's not all right! He shot Morgan, shot him in the neck. He came into the room and stood right by me, and I couldn't do anything. He said, "Now I know what scares you," and he killed Morgan.

 _Shhh. Aaron. It's okay. It didn't happen._

What? But I . . . .

 _Think it through, Aaron._

I saw him. I saw . . .

 _What happened next?_

I don't know.

 _You do. Think it through. What did you see, what did you hear next?_

He was sitting in the chair. He told me I could move.

 _And where was Morgan?_

He was . . . I don't know.

 _That's because he wasn't there. Go on. Tell me the rest._

The car pulled up. Again? Yes, again. He said, "I'm here. I have something for you." He handed me the knife, the one Dr. Regan . . . used. He said, "I'm about to come through that front door. Kill me, before I kill you."

 _What did you do?_

I told him I needed my gun. I don't . . . I can't use a knife. He threw it down in front of me. He pointed to the door, told me he was coming, I had to kill him. I had to. I thought . . . I thought it was him coming in. I shot . . . God, Dave, what did I do?

 _Nothing bad, Aaron. You didn't hurt any of us. You shot at him, not at us. You did good._

Reid said he surrendered?

 _Yes._

Why? Why would he do that?

 _I guess he wasn't ready to die._

No. No, that's not right. Why would he do that, Dave? Why?

 _Let's go home._

I can't be around Jack. I can't . . . I'm so . . . Dave, my head hurts.

 _Want to go to the hospital?_

No. No hospital. I just want to sleep. But I can't go home.

 _No worries. You're coming to my house._

Jack?

 _I called Jessica. Let's go, Aaron._

Why would be surrender? It doesn't make sense.

 _Come on_.

"Fear is strong, but sleep overcomes it."


End file.
